Grading the Colts

Scout.com

10/19/2005

Scout.com's grades are in for the Colts' Monday night performance.

PASSING OFFENSE: BThe Colts' pass offense worked in a business-like fashion against St. Louis, completing 22-of-32 passes for 187 yards and
two touchdowns. QB Peyton Manning had a 105.1 efficiency rating. Manning spread the ball around to six different receivers, but
some early drops and struggles in the red zone almost came back to hurt Indianapolis later.
RUSHING OFFENSE: A
RB Edgerrin James ran for 143 yards on 21 carries and three touchdowns as the Colts had 170 yards in rushing offense.
Backup RB Dominic Rhodes added 29 yards in 11 carries and netted a rushing touchdown. Indianapolis' offensive line did a good job of creating
running lanes for James all evening.

PASS DEFENSE: B-Indianapolis struggled in the early going, giving up several big plays -- including a 57-yard touchdown pass. But
as the game wore on, the Colts settled down and forced two interceptions while recording one sack.

RUSH DEFENSE: B-
Much like the pass defense, the Colts had their problems in the first quarter as Steven Jackson found plenty of running
room. But as the game wore on, Indianapolis started to settle down and was able to hold a sixth-straight opponent without a 100-yard rusher.

SPECIAL TEAMS: BThrow out the kickoff return fumble by RB Dominic Rhodes, which is hard to do considering that the mistakes allowed the
Rams to take a 10-0 lead just minutes into the game, and the Colts special teams
played fairly well. The punt and kickoff coverage units played very well. WR Troy Walters had a 19-yard punt return while Rhodes settled down to
average 18.8 yards on five kickoff returns. PK Mike Vanderjagt did miss a 48-yard
field goal attempt and kickoff specialist Dave Rayner continues to be a bit inconsistent.

COACHING: A
It's tough to keep poise on the sidelines after falling behind 17-0 after one quarter. But give credit to the Colts assistant
coaches, as Tony Dungy did after the game, for keeping everybody's head in the game and not giving in to a panic situation. Indianapolis kept its
cool and managed to rally with a strong second-half for the win.